1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to transducer suspension systems and more particularly to a transducer suspension system comprised of stacked material layers.
2. Description of Prior Art
Direct access storage devices (DASD), or disk drives, store information on concentric tracks of a rotatable magnetic recording disk. A magnetic head or transducer element is moved from track to track to record and read the desired information. Typically, the magnetic head is positioned on an air bearing slider which flies above the surface of the disk as the disk rotates. In some recently proposed disk drives, the slider (or carrier) rides on a liquid film or bearing on the disk. A suspension assembly connects the slider to a rotary or linear actuator. The suspension provides support for the slider.
As disk drives become smaller in size, the recorded track density has increased dramatically. This has necessitated the use of smaller and smaller heads and suspensions. However, the smaller geometries of the suspension and head make it more difficult to manufacture the disk drive. In particular it has become extremely difficult to manufacture these heads and suspension components and their related electrical lead lines with the required accuracy and small tolerances.
Briefly, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a suspension system comprises a multiple layer flexure, a load beam, and an arm. The load beam extends from a tip of the suspension back to the rear of the arm member. The arm member is shaped to correspond to the shape of the rear portion of the load beam. The arm member is welded underneath the load beam. The load beam has a plurality of datum holes. By extending the load beam back and over the arm, all datum holes may be located in the load beam layer. These datum holes can be used not only for assembling all pieces of the suspension and attaching the slider, but also for subsequent actuator or head stack assembly. If only one piece has all of the datum points, then greater accuracy in the total manufacturing process is possible. All datum features may be located in the load beam with a size precision and precision to each other that is better than xc2x10.010 mm. Both the arm and flexure have larger holes than the corresponding holes on the load beam. Any alignment tooling pins, or actuator assembly parts which are inserted into the datum holes will contact the smaller holes of the load beam. Additional features of the present invention include merge tabs, electrostatic discharge grounding, and recessed portions for shearing parts from a frame.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.